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Phobias

Claustrophobia, arachnophobia—everyone has a phobia about something. See if you can guess the fears associated with these phobias!

1. Chaetophobia is the fear of:
   • Hair
   • Cheetos
   • Feet
   • Chairs

   Hair

   The fear of hair can range from animal hair to human hair; some people fear the hair on their own bodies, while others fear only detached hair on furniture. Hair loss can also trigger this fear.

2. Coulrophobia is the fear of:
   • Samuel Taylor Coleridge
   • Columns
   • Collars
   • Clowns

   Clowns

   The term coulrophobia is a recent one, dating from the early 1980s. The prefix “coulro” comes from the Ancient Greek meaning “stilt-walker.” Ironically, although they are a symbol of childhood, studies have proven that clowns are universally disliked by children.

3. Friggatriskaidekaphobia is the fear of:
   • Being cold
   • Triskets
   • Friday the 13th
   • Kaleidoscopes

   Friday the 13th

   This phobia is named for Frigga, the Norse goddess for whom “Friday” is named, and for triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen. Frigophobia is the fear of being cold.

4. Phobophobia is the fear of:
   • Photographs
   • Having a phobia
   • Hobos
   • Hopping

   Having a phobia

   Greek for the “fear of fear,” phobophobia is directly related to anxiety disorders and other types of phobias such as agoraphobia. Phobophobia is also the name of the Halloween show at the London Bridge Experience in England.

5. Pediophobia is the fear of:
   • Children
   • Dolls
   • Pediatricians
   • Walking

   Dolls

   Pediophobia is one of the most common phobias diagnosed today. It is a branch of automatonophobia (the fear of humanoid figures) and can include everything from china dolls to mannequins and ventriloquist dummies.

6. Ipovlopsychophobia is the fear of:
   • Having your picture taken
   • Having a psychosis
   • Being lopsided
   • Anna Pavlova

   Having your picture taken

   The term Ipovlopsychophobia comes from the Greek for “one who takes stolen glances.” It can refer not only to someone who has a strong aversion or who refuses to have their picture taken, but also to people who have the religious belief that photographs steal their spirit.

7. Xanthophobia is the fear of:
   • Chewing gum
   • Paint
   • Xanax
   • The color yellow

   The color yellow

   The fear of the color yellow can include the sun, daffodils, paint, and the Yellow Pages. Sea turtles are born with xanthophobia which helps them visually find the sea after hatching.

8. Genuphobia is the fear of:
   • Geniuses
   • Religion
   • Reality
   • Knees

   Knees

   This phobia also covers the act of kneeling and can be about your own knees or someone else’s. Some people also fear kneeling because it is a form of submission.

9. Cynophobia is the fear of:
   • Dogs
   • Birds
   • Movies
   • Cynics

   Dogs

   Animal phobias such as cynophobia are some of the most common phobias that are diagnosed. Cynophobia is especially debilitating because of the number of dogs in the United States.

10. Papaphobia is the fear of:
    • Your Father
    • The Pope
    • The Paparazzi
    • Paper

    The Pope

    Treatments for this intense fear or dread of the Pope and/or the Roman Catholic Church include hypnotherapy—but not exorcisms.

11. Ichthyophobia is the fear of:
    • Germans
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fish
    • Itching

    Fish

    Ichthyophobia refers to several different fears, including the fear of eating fish, or of dead fish. One subtype of this phobia is Galeophobia, the fear of sharks.

12. Panphobia is the fear of:
    • Pants
    • Cookwear
    • Everything
    • Peter Pan

    Everything

    Also known as omniphobia and pantophobia, panophobia is described as a a non-specific fear or a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil.